Don't Throw Up on an Auror's Shoes
by anime-is-dumb
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy is going nowhere in life, thanks to a combination of lonely alcoholism and frustrating unemployment.  And then one day he stumbles right into potential salvation.  And then he pukes on their shoes.


Harry Potter. I don't own it!

* * *

><p>Scorpius Malfoy loved firewhiskey more than just about anything else.<p>

The taste. The burning sensations. The way it got him so fucking plastered he could no longer see straight. There were some days where he wondered if he'd ever manage to survive without it.

As the most recent scion of the Malfoy family, Scorpius had a few standard to live up to, even as a drunkard. He was a snappy dresser, devilishly handsome (according to himself) when he wasn't passed out in a pool of his own vomit, and an absolute genius with potions.

Scorpius had also spent the last three years unemployed, which left him a considerable amount of time to dedicate to his firewhiskey habit. Which was why he was in the Leaky Cauldron at 1pm on a Friday, attempting to drink himself into an early grave.

Scorpius wasn't completely sure when the near-daily trips to the Leaky Cauldron began, but they'd been going on for so long now that he wasn't sure if he'd ever manage to stop. All he could really remember is wandering into the Leaky to drown his sorrows after one of many failed job interviews, and the visits becoming a habit not long after that.

"One more if you please, Madam Longbottom." slurred Scorpius to the pub's owner, wiggling his tumbler for a refill. Scorpius liked Hannah Longbottom. She was never _too_ preachy when she warned him about how much he'd had to drink, and wouldn't usually cut him off until he was about to fall off of the barstool.

_'Plus, for woman old enough to be my mother, Hannah Longbottom's got a fucking amazing set of tits.'_ thought Scorpius as his eyes wandered lecherously over the middle-aged woman's figure.

"It's only 3:30 and you're almost into the double-digits, Mr. Malfoy." she warned lightly as she refilled Scorpius' glass.

"I'll stop soon, just keep them coming." She'd become quite good at understanding Scorpius' garbled drunk-talk, and just gave him a look before going off to tend the other patrons of the bar.

_'Amendment. She's got a fucking amazing arse to go with the amazing set of tits. Professor Longbottom is a lucky man.'_

Maybe _that_ was just the firewhiskey talking.

The firewhiskey, or the fac that Scorpius hadn't had a real, genuine relationship with a woman ever in his life, and hadn't had a proper shag since Hogwarts. Sure, he'd shagged a few of his fellow Hogwarts students, but no woman who knew Scorpius' name ever seemed willing to date him. There were some rather nasty stigmas attached to the family name...and Scorpius hadn't yet met a woman willing to look past that.

Any worthwhile woman anyway.

_'Yeah, a shag sounds pretty good right now.' _thought Scorpius as he drunkenly stared into the bottom of his glass.

Scorpius chuckled darkly, wondering what his former classmates would think if they saw him now, drunk and alone in a pub when normal people were at their jobs. _'Probably turn up their noses and ignore me...and then laugh once out of earshot. The twats.'_

Not only had Scorpius graduated from Hogwarts, but his marks were high enough to rank him second in his graduating class. And he had some of the highest NEWT scores ever recorded for potions, arithmancy, charms, and history of magic.

So, with a proper education and some exceptional marks to go with, why couldn't Scorpius land a job?

Scorpius wished he could say that there was currently an economic downturn in the wizarding world, or perhaps a lack of current openings...but he couldn't. The galleon was strong, the magical economy booming, and the Prophet was packed with listings for just about every career wizarding Britain had to offer.

No, Scorpius was fairly certain that his last name was the problem. He'd sat nearly 70 interviews over the past three years, which may sound like a lot, but it was nothing compared to the number of resumes and applications he'd owled out. Merely _getting_ an interview was practically worth celebrating.

_'Of course, once I'm sitting there in front of some (likely a former Gryffindor) hirer's desk, watching them squirm with discomfort at my presence, I've got no reason to celebrate.'_ he thought as he took another sip of his drink.

Because he's Scorpius Malfoy, direct descendant of several Death Eaters, and a former Slytherin to boot. Nobody wanted to hire _that_.

Invariably Scorpius would be immensely qualified for whatever entry-level job they're offering, but within the week he'd get an owl with an apologetic letter informing him that in spite of his qualifications and expertise, they had decided to give the job to someone else.

And a few weeks after that, he'd usually find out that the job was given to some Hufflepuff or Gryffindor who, in Scorpius' mind, only stood out for not being able to find their own arse with both hands and probably never got a single mark higher than 'Acceptable'.

It would have been nice if Scorpius had a friend or acquaintance who could recommend him, or perhaps even hire him. But, since many adults who frankly should have known better were scared of him for no other reason than his being a Malfoy, it only made sense that he'd not had many friends at Hogwarts either.

Apart from a few muggleborns not familiar with his family history, a housemate or two, and that one awkward Weasley girl from his year, almost nobody at Hogwarts would even speak to him, much less befriend him. But Scorpius was used to that by now.

_'Trying to find a job isn't even about needing the money, really. I'm a Malfoy, after all. Saying we've got galleons to spare is like saying the Chudley Cannons are rubbish...it simply goes without saying. I just need to stay alive long enough to inherit the fortune...which may or may not happen, considering how much firewhiskey I consume on a weekly basis.' _

Even after the fall of Voldemort, when they threw his grandfather into Azkaban and seized his assets, it was a rather simple matter for Scorpius' grandmother and father to transfer funds from the family accounts in other countries and on other continents (the ones the Ministry could never get their greasy hands on, no matter how hard they tried) and inflate the Malfoy family Gringott's account to twice it's former size.

Narcissa Malfoy even bought Malfoy Manor back when the Ministry auctioned it off. For about half of it's actual market value and for less than it cost the Ministry to seize it in the first place. That was about the closest Scorpius had ever seen Grandma Cissy get to gloating.

_'The point is, I could never work a day of my life if I didn't want to...and idea that is become more and more appealing, quite frankly. But, I want to work. To build a name for myself in wizarding Britain. To work my way up a ladder on nothing but my own merits and talents._

_Bloody hell, it's nearly 5 o'clock now. At least, I think it's 5...I'd be able to tell if the bloody clock would stop jumping around on the wall. Merlin, maybe Hannah is right...I really must be drinking harder than usual today...I'm not usually this drunk until well past supper.' _thought Scorpius as he eyeballed the wall, squinting to make out the clock through his drunken haze.

It was time to go, then.

"Bye, Madam Longbottom!" said Scorpius a little too loudly as he tossed a bag of galleons down. '_Judging by the look on her face, I'm guessing my farewell came out as unintelligible gibberish. Oh well, she knows what I'm up to.'_

As he staggered out the door, he ended up staggering right into something huge. Or rather, _somebody_ huge. The other man didn't budge an inch while Scorpius wound up sprawled at his feet, the world spinning too fast for him to figure out which way was up.

"Agh! Bloody hell! Stupid drunks." a gruff voice reached his ears.

_'Sorry Mr. Gruff-Voice-Man, but I'm not terribly fleet of foot when I've had 17 firewhiskeys.' _thought Scorpius as he felt a familiar sensation in his stomach.

"If I weren't off-duty, I'd haul his arse in for public drunkenness!" the gruff voice spoke again.

Mr. Gruff-Voice-Man must be an Auror. Just what Scorpius needed.

"Scorpius?" That voice wasn't gruff...in fact, it was decidedly female. "Oh Merlin, Scorpius Malfoy! Dad, we have to help him!" The gruff voice did not seem to agree with her.

_'Help? Bah. I'm Scorpius fucking Malfoy. I don't need any help.' _ Scorpius tried to inform them of this fact, but it just came out as a pained groan followed by a loud belch.

Scorpius was usually far more charming when sober.

As he struggled up to his hands and knees, the voices began getting fainter and Scorpius' vision began to go black.

He don't feel so good.

_'This bloke has some bloody huge feet.'_

"Uuurrrggg...BLARGK!"

"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK! Rose, your stupid drunk friend just threw up all over my shoes!"

_Rose? Friend?_ Were the last things to go through Scorpius' head before he collapsed into his own pavement pizza and passed out in it.

* * *

><p><em>'Since when does my bedroom have a...spinny-thing on the ceiling? I'm fairly certain it doesn't. Or perhaps it isn't spinning and it's just my inebriation making the room spin. Either way, it's making me feel nauseated.'<em> thought Scorpius as he woke up and tried to make sense of his surroundings through a vicious hangover.

"Ah, back with the living I see." Scorpius recognized that drawl.

"Dad?"

Draco responded to his son in his usual compassionate way, by forcing Scorpius mouth open, pouring a vial of _something_ hideous tasting down his throat, pinching his nose so until he was forced to swallow.

"GAKK!"

In spite of the hideous taste, Scorpius' head immediately cleared.

'_Ah, so the thing on the ceiling _is_ spinning.'_

"That should sober you up." said Scorpius' blonde, slightly balding father as he came into focus. Since Draco was there, it meant he could answer the question that had been burning in Scorpius' head since he'd come to.

"Dad, why is there a spinning thing on my ceiling?"

"I believe he called that a 'ceiling fan'. And, this isn't _your_ ceiling. I'm afraid that you're currently in a guest bedroom at the home of Ron and Hermione Weasley. The Weasleys and your mother are currently downstairs."

Scorpius stared blankly. "What?"

"Now, drink these." instructed Draco. "The green one will help with the nausea, and the blue one will perk you right up."

Scorpius tossed back the two vials and grimaced at the taste.

"Why am I at the Weasley's house?" '_Well, I think that's a reasonable question.'_

"Do you not remember what happened?" Draco looked very amused.

"A few bits and pieces..."

"Well, if I heard Weasel's and Rose's story correctly, you stumbled out of the Leaky in a drunken stupor, ran straight into King Weasel himself, and then vomited on his shoes, before passing out...in your own vomit. Good show, son! The big red baby is still whining about you ruining his favorite shoes." Draco was clearly trying to hold his laughter in as he recounted the tale.

'_Oh. Great. I've only made a giant arse of myself in front of one of Britain's greatest living heroes...and his spawn.' _Scorpius winced inwardly as he thought it.

"And they brought me to their house?" Why didn't they just take me to St. Mungo's?

"From what I gathered, Weasel _didn't_ want to bring you here. Rose did. And when Weasel didn't want to, she suggested bringing you to _her_ apartment. And Weasel immediately changed his mind and brought you here." now Draco was turning red with the effort of keeping his laughter in.

_'What's so funny?'_

"What are you laughing at?"

"Oh, well...it's just Rose...and then her father..." upon seeing Scorpius' confused look, Draco immediately stopped.

"Well, never mind that. After they brought you here, Granger floo'd us at the Manor and told us that you were passed out drunk in the middle of Diagon Alley and that they'd brought you to their home. Your mother and I came to collect you. Granger and daughter insisted that you and the rest of us stay for a late supper."

"What?"

"I know. Weasel and I weren't too keen on the idea, but the women all insisted. And you were too unconscious to cast your vote." Draco smirked as he said it. "Your mum is downstairs, helping the Weasleys prepare dinner."

Scorpius stifled a groan and leaned back into the pillow. This was going to be an awkward meal, he thought.

"I do have one question though. When did you and Rose Weasley become such good friends?" asked Draco.

Scorpius looked up. "What? She and I were never friends. We hardly even spoke at Hogwarts!"

"Oh. Well, you could've fooled me. Rose seems quite pleased to see you again, and from what her parents tell me, she spoke about you regularly during her school years. Rose was rather embarrassed when they said it." Draco had a knowing look on his face.

It's a really annoying look, in Scorpius' opinion.

"We aren't friends. We're not even acquaintances. I'm sure she and I will have a great time catching up and talking about all those things we _never_ did together."

"In any case, Granger was taking the opportunity to embarrass her daughter so I had to respond in kind."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"I let them know about the time you vomited on Mum's feet when you were seven. Just so Weasel would know that he isn't special enough to be the _only_ person you vomit on." Draco snickered as he said it.

Scorpius just groaned.

"You're really certain that there's nothing between you and Weasel Jr.? She was _quite adamant_ about keeping you here for the evening. She seems like a nice enough girl, if a bit shy. Much sweeter than that mother of hers was..." Draco trailed off as he said it, rubbing his nose thoughtfully.

_'Great, Dad is back to this again. And why did he rub his nose when mentioning Hermione Weasley?'_

"We spoke perhaps a few times a year at Howarts, and it was always just awkward."

"When did you first speak to her?"

"I suppose it was in first year..."

* * *

><p><em>There was no other way to put it. Rose Weasley was LOST. In Hogwarts. In the dungeons. She'd come down looking for her potions class, never found it, and now couldn't find her way out and back into the castle. <em>

_She'd been walking around for more than an hour, and gone nowhere. She was certain she'd passed the portrait of the giant squid three times now. _

_Finally, Rose just gave up. She slumped against the wall and sniffled, fighting back full-blown sobs. _

_Being lost in a place like Hogwarts was pretty frightening for an 11-year-old. Especially an 11-year-old with no sense of direction. A few tears began to drip onto her Gryffindor necktie. _

"_Hey, what are you doing down there?" As she looked up, Scorpius recognized the girl as Rose Weasley, the redhead who had been watching him/staring while they were on the platform at King's Cross. _

_Rose looked up and immediately began to blush. It was Scorpius Malfoy, fellow first-year, a denizen of the Slytherin dungeons and the boy her father had expressly told her to avoid. _

_He was also quite cute, she thought. _

"_I...I..."_

"_You're crying. What's happened?" now Scorpius looked concerned. _

"_I...I'm lost! I couldn't find potions and now I can't get out of the dungeons!" Rose couldn't hide her embarrassment. _

_Scorpius chuckled a bit, to Rose's annoyance, before extending his hand to her. "Come along, I'll get you out of here." _

_Rose's eyes widened, before she took Scorpius' hand, and then continued to hold onto it as he led her out of the dungeons. _

"_See, you've got to turn right at the Black Knight's portrait."_

_Rose looked at the portrait and was immediately aghast. It was a moving portrait of a black-clad knight, standing in the woods and with one of his arms chopped off and laying at his feet. Blood shot out of his shoulder like a geyser. _

_'It's Only a Flesh Wound.' read the plaque under the portrait. _

_The hallway to the right looked dark, dirty, and foreboding. Needless to say, every time Rose had passed through, she'd taken the path to the left, which was clean and reasonably well lit. _

"_I know that this hallway looks dark and dingy, but it's the quickest way out of here. The other hall just loops back around through the dungeons." explained Scorpius as he led Rose out. _

_In no time at all, Scorpius had led Rose out of the dungeons and into one of the school's main hallways, not far from Gryffindor Tower. _

"_See, no harm done. Just remember to go right next time and you'll be fine." replied Scorpius with a slanted grin that made Rose blush. _

"_Thank you, Scorpius." she replied, looking down at her shoes. _

"_Later, Weasley."_

* * *

><p>"You actually held her hand?" Draco grinned. "How did that nice little boy of mine turn into such a surly drunk?"<p>

"I'm not _surly!" 'I'm not!'_

"Yes, yes...of course you aren't." Scorpius hated it when his father rolled his eyes at him. "And you never tried to befriend her after that? It sounds like she might have enjoyed your company."

"No, we never really spoke much. We'd say hello to one another now and then but that was it. I don't think we had another real conversation until fifth year or so."

"Oh, so you remember every conversation you had with the girl, then?" asked Draco with a wink.

_'You know what's worse than Draco Malfoy rolling his eyes? Draco Malfoy winking at you. My father is a smarmy git.' _thought Scorpius as he glared at his father.

"No! I just remember a couple of them..."

"What happened in fifth year, then?" asked Draco as he leaned forward.

* * *

><p><em>It was the first time Scorpius had shared potions class with the Gryffindors. As one might have expected from the house famous for producing potions prodigies, there were many Slytherins in the fifth year OWL-level potions class, but the house of Lions was well-represented too. <em>

_Never having many friends over his years at Hogwarts, mostly owing to other students' prejudices, Scorpius was not too surprised to find himself sitting alone._

_And there were an odd number of students in the class as well. Just his luck. Oh well, perhaps it was better this way. None of the other students possessed his cauldron-handling skills. _

_Just as Potions Master Parkinson was about to begin class, the door swung open rather violently and Rose Weasley blew in like a hurricane of red hair. Her face was red, her hair was wild, her freckles were...freckly...and her eyes gimballed about the room._

"_Oh, I'm so sorry I'm late, Professor Parkinson! Quidditch practice ran late and my cousin James is such a git and he wouldn't let us leave until we'd..."_

"_QUIT YAMMERING AND FIND A SEAT, WEASLEY!" barked Pansy before she glanced around the room. "Go sit down by Mr. Malfoy, he needs a partner." she snarled as she rubbed her temples._

_Rose immediately ducked her head and ran sheepishly towards the seat next to Scorpius. _

"_Hello!" she puffed quietly as she sat next to him. Rather closely next to him. So close that their hips were nearly touching. Their arms _were _touching. _

_So close that he could smell the cinnamon scent of her hair. _

_Scorpius merely nodded and grunted, blushing a bit at Rose's closeness. She grinned before turning her head to listen to Parkinson's lesson. _

_Later, when it came time to work on the potions, Scorpius was finding that his otherwise very intelligent partner wasn't exactly a future potions master. _

"_Nngk! Merlin, this thing is tough!" grunted Rose as she tried to cut a giant golden liverbean in half to harvest it's golden meat inside. _

"_Careful, Weasley." said Scorpius as he moved behind her. "You're trying to cut against the grain of the bean's husk. If you do that, all you'll manage to cut is your hand. Here, do it like this..."_

_Scorpius moved behind Rose, and reached around to guide her hands with his own, inadvertently pressing himself against her backside as he did. From his vantage point, he couldn't see her crystal blue eyes practically bug out of her face. Or see her complexion going beet red. Or feel her heart rate double in an instant. _

"_See, if you cut the bean lengthwise, it'll cut easily, and scooping out the innards will be much easier as well." Scorpius murmured into her ear. _

"_Erm...t-t-thanks, Scorpius." stuttered a still-blushing Rose as Scorpius separated himself from her and went back to weighing the herbs and other ingredients that were going to be used in their potion. _

_The rest of the class period was conducted in a rather awkward silence, with Rose making furtive glances at her partner._

* * *

><p>Draco stared at his son, before facepalming. <em>'Well, I suppose I wasn't much better with women at his age...back then I still had Pansy Parkinson clinging to me...urgh...I can't believe I copulated with that...so many times.'<em> thought Draco with disgust.

Suddenly snapping out of it, Draco reached into his back pocket. "That reminds me...I was informing the Weasleys of your prodigious talents in potions and arithmancy, and Granger produced these. I circled the two that might appeal to you."

Draco reached into his coat and produced a few parchments, handing them over to his son.

_'NOW HIRING AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT!'_

_**Potions Master. **_

_The MLE is currently seeking motivated individuals to work in our potions investigation lab. Duties will include reverse-engineering malicious potions to determine their origin and ingredients, developing antidotes to malicious potions used against victims of magical crimes, and providing potions-related expertise and assistance to various Ministry Departments as needed. _

_An 'O' at the NEWT level in Potions is required, as are overall good marks. Letter of recommendation from a certified Potions Master and some experience are also preferred. _

_**Curse Breaker.**_

_The MLE is currently seeking entry-level curse-breakers. Job duties include determining the curses that have been placed on magical objects and buildings, and then breaking them in the safest way possible. The curse breaker will work closely with the Auror Dept. and other branches of the Ministry as necessary. _

_An 'O' at the NEWT level for both Runes and Arithmancy is required for this job. Knowledge of Latin, good problem solving skills, and patience are also a plus. _

Scorpius looked up from the sheets. "Work for the Ministry? You know I've been trying to find a job in the business sector. And why are you telling the Weasleys about my school marks anyway?"

"Yes, judging by all the success you've had finding any sort of employment in business, it's clearly the best choice for you..." sneered Draco.

_'My father. Master of Sarcasm. Also bald.'_

"...and considering that the Weasleys found you face-down in a pile of your own sick, I felt that a bit of talking-up is exactly what you needed. Besides, my son might be a good-for-nothing inebriate, but he's a _smart_ good-for-nothing inebriate!"

_'Gee, thanks dad. Still, perhaps applying for these jobs would be a good idea. I know Parkinson would recommend me too. She always liked me...said I reminded her of my father. Plus, if the Weasleys will put a good word in for me, that is about as good as getting Harry Potter himself to give me one.' _Scorpius had to admit, the plan had some merit...

"Plus, Rose's parents seemed rather wary of their daughter being around you. I had to convince them that you aren't that bad."

Scorpius just snorted. "Now why would Rose's parents be wary of me? They've never even met me and most likely they'll never see me again."

Draco ignored his son's words. "I'm rather enjoying your anecdotes about Hogwarts now. You never told me anything when you were actually _going_ there. Did you speak to Rose again after fifth year?"

Scorpius wished his dad would give it a rest, but dredged up a memory anyway.

"There was that time in sixth year, right around the Yule Ball..."

* * *

><p><em>As a sixth year prefect (Scorpius hadn't been a prefect in fifth year, but for whatever reason, McGonagall had thrown a badge to him in sixth year and told him to get to it. Scorpius had no idea why.) Scorpius was one of the students tasked with preparing Hogwarts for the upcoming Yule Ball. It had been nearly 30 years since the last time Hogwarts had hosted the Triwizard Tournament, as well as the Yule Ball, and the school was going all-out. <em>

_As Scorpius fumbled with charmed decorations and the like, he was suddenly made aware of a presence next to him, as well as a familiar cinnamon scent. _

"_Hello, Scorpius!" said Rose with a smile as she dropped another box of decorations near him. "Would you like some help?"_

"_Sure. Thanks, Weasley." _

_The two worked in silence for a while, before Scorpius spoke. _

"_I heard about Lucy being named the Hogwarts Champion. That must be very exciting, having family in the tournament."_

"_It isn't exciting at all! All I can do is worry about Lucy." replied Rose anxiously, wringing a piece of garland that was charmed to sing as she did, causing it to squawk indignantly. _

"_I'm sure she'll be fine. Lucy is a very talented witch." _

"_I hope so. And, I also wanted to say, congratulations on being a prefect this year." said Rose as she switched topics. _

"_Thanks. I'm not sure what McGonagall was thinking, but I'm trying to do my best."_

"_McGonagall knows that you're a very capable wizard." replied Rose lightly. _

_The two continued working before Rose asked a question._

"_So, the Ball is two weeks away. Have you asked anyone yet?" Scorpius wasn't sure, but he thought she sounded a bit hopeful. _

"_I asked Gabrielle Mouton from Beuxbatons this morning. She said yes. She seems rather nice." replied Scorpius offhandedly as he went back to his work. _

"_Oh..." the shine went out of Rose's eyes and her whole body seemed to sag a bit. "She's very...pretty."_

"_Yeah..." Scorpius replied offhandedly. _

"_Nobody has asked me yet." Rose sounded a bit down. _

_Now Scorpius just felt awkward. "Well, I'm sure some bloke will. I heard Vitali Krum talking about you the other day. I bet he'll ask you soon."_

_Rose thought about the hulking Durmstrang student with the hooked nose and heavy brow and felt her spirits sink even further. "Great..."_

_The awkward silence continued until Rose said "I suppose I'll leave you to finish this, then. See you at the dance, _Scorpius." _she bit out before leaving in a manner that could best be described as 'stalking away'._

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy couldn't believe it. <em>'My son really is an oblivious pillock sometimes.'<em>

* * *

><p>"The night of the Ball was the first time I ever had firewhiskey. Some Gryffindors snuck it in. By the end of the night I was completely lit." Scorpius reminisced out loud.<p>

"Speaking of being completely lit, Granger had something else for you. She suggested you go and get some help. Do-gooder to the end, that one." My father reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another pamphlet.

_**ST. MUNGO'S ALCOHOL AND ADDICTION COUNSELING PROGRAM.**_

_'Great. Now the Weasleys think I'm an alcoholic. I'm not! I'm only drunk maybe five or six...days...a week._

_You know what? I think I'll hang onto this pamphlet. Dad must've really done a great job talking me up, if Hermione Weasley was willing to let a lush like me in on these Ministry job postings.'_

"Supper will be ready in ten minutes, Draco dear!" Scorpius recognized his mother's voice. "Is Scorpius up yet?"

"Yes, Astoria! We'll be down in a moment!" Draco called back back cheerfully.

There were any number of things Scorpius could say about his parents, but he could never accuse them of not being happy together.

Scorpius could faintly hear his mother talking to Rose. It sounded like they were having an enjoyable conversation...lots of laughing. Hermione joined in too, sometimes. '_I wonder what they're talking about. Or plotting. Plotting is something my mum is excellent at.' _thought Scorpius with an ounce or two of fear.

"Rose really did seem happy to see you again...how long has it been since you spoke with her last?" Draco piped up again, as he returned his attention to his son.

"ARGH! Rose, Rose, Rose! Is that all you're going to talk about, father? If I didn't know any better, I'd think _you fancy Rose!_ Or perhaps you fancied her mother once!" Scorpius snapped at his father.

Draco straightened sharply. _'Hah! Take that, old man.'_

"Don't be a twat, Scorpius. I never fancied Hermione! You've never brought home a single girlfriend in your life, and we were starting to wonder. Now that I know you actually _have_ had some sort of female contact in your life and can tell your mother about it, I'm curious. Especially since the girl involved is the daughter of King Weasel himself!"

_'The female contact I had at Hogwarts is nothing I'm going to tell you about, old man_.' "Father, you know that no decent witch is willing to date the Malfoy spawn. I can't even believe that _you're_ married."

Draco just rolled his eyes and murmured something under his breath. It sounded a little like _"I might know one..."_ but Scorpius wasn't sure.

* * *

><p><em>'Is it always this hot in cupboards? Clearly, it's too hot for clothes, time to start removing them.' thought Scorpius as he and his partner continued their rather pleasurable activities in one of Hogwarts' many hidden storage closets. <em>

_He had been patrolling with his fellow seventh year prefect, Giovanna DiPasquale of Ravenclaw, when a familiar urge struck the both of them. _

_The two weren't dating, but did regularly employ one another to satisfy some of their more base urges. Giovanna didn't want the stigma that would come with dating Scorpius Malfoy, but occasionally riding him like a broom in secret was certainly okay. Scorpius didn't mind the distraction either. _

_Scorpius and Giovanna continued kissing and groping furiously, and clothes were just starting to be shed when the door to the closet flew open to reveal Rose Weasley, wearing her Head Girl badge, with her wand drawn. _

_Her face immediately fell at the sight before her. _

"_Scorpius! Giovanna." Rose Weasley sighed as she put her wand away. "The two of you are supposed to be patrolling..."_

_Rose didn't sound angry or even annoyed. Just...disappointed and sad._

"_Omigosh Rose! I'm sorry! Please don't tell McGonagall, it was just..." Giovanna was clearly mortified at what was happening. _

"_It's alright, just don't let me catch you two like this again. I heard strange noises and this is not what I was expecting to find..." replied Rose as she cast a critical at the Ravenclaw Scorpius had been necking with. _

_Giovanna's hair was perfectly straight and such a deep inky black that it almost looked blue in the light. Rose's hair was a wild, unmanageable tangle of red curls. _

_Giovanna's olive skin was perfectly tan and smooth. Rose wasn't sure if she had more freckles or more pale white-pink skin. _

_Giovanna's eyes were intensely dark and almond-shaped, exotic to say the least. Rose's were merely large and blue. _

_Giovanna was possibly the brightest girl in Ravenclaw, one of the few denizens of the school who matched Rose and Scorpius in classes and marks received. _

_Rose suddenly felt very inadequate. _

"_I think I'll just turn in. Patrols were quiet tonight." said Scorpius, awkwardly attempting to change the subject as he straightened his tie and prefect badge. _

"_I think that would be best." replied Rose, before she bid her farewells and trudged off in the other direction, with her head down. _

_For reasons he couldn't quite articulate, Scorpius felt completely ashamed._

* * *

><p>"Bloody hell, son. You're lucky she didn't just leave you laying in the street earlier today after you did something like that to her." '<em>Oblivious pillock indeed.'<em> thought Draco.

Before Scorpius could inform his father that he had done nothing to Rose Weasley except inconvenience her slightly, and that his love life was never any of her business in the first place, there was a knock at the door.

"Excuse me? Mr. Malfoy, Scorpius? Supper is ready." called a gentle voice from the door.

Scorpius' jaw dropped to the floor.

It was Rose Weasley. Except, well...improved. She was still as tall as can be, but her body had finally filled out and filled in. Her face slimmed down enough that her cheekbones showed. She was still covered in freckles, and her face was still as kind and friendly as Scorpius remembered it being. Her hair shone. _'I wonder if it still smells of cinnamon?' _ thought Scorpius as he stared.

"We'll be down in one moment, dear." Draco smiled at her, and Rose returned it, before taking her leave.

"Come along, Scorpius. I'm hungry and if what Weasel says is true, Granger makes the best steak-and-kidney pie in Britain." Draco's words were enough to shake Scorpius out of his Rose-induced stupor.

_'Why didn't I ever notice how beautiful she is? She was always pretty, but...'_

As we're going out the door, my father has one last thing to say to me.

"I don't know for sure son, but you may be walking into a trap. Be careful down there." he said with a grin and a wink.

As before, Scorpius thought his dad a smarmy git. But, what could he possibly mean by a _trap_?

* * *

><p>As Draco Malfoy walked his son down to supper with the Weasleys, an event certain to cause him no shortage of suffering and agony, a few thoughts directed towards his only son ran through his head.<p>

_'Son, I may hate these people, or at least dislike them a great deal, but if casting you off into the clutches of the Weasleys is what it takes for you to get your life together, I'm more than willing to do it. Please don't cock this up._

_I wonder how Astoria did with Rose? Hopefully the young lady will be willing to give my idiot son another chance. At least she seems to be aware that there's more to him than just being a drunk ass with no job. It probably helps that she fancies the pants off of him, heh.'_

* * *

><p>When Scorpius walked into the Weasley's warm and spacious kitchen, it suddenly became obvious what his father meant by a trap.<p>

"Come and sit with me, Scorpius!" said Rose rather cheerfully, patting the chair to the right of her own. At the end of the table. Mrs. Weasley would be sitting to right at the foot of the table. Scorpius' mother will be directly across from him.

Scorpius was in no man's land. Literally!

Rose and Astoria were both wearing rather conspiratorial looks, while Hermione didn't look like she was in on it, but she definitely could tell what was going on. She looked very amused.

_'Bloody hell. I've no chance of escaping whatever these women are planning for me.' _Scorpius thought it rather silly to be panicking like this, at 21 years of age, but he couldn't help it.

As it turned out, Rose's hair still did smell of cinnamon. She also still sat a little too close to Scorpius than would be considered normal, but he didn't seem to mind this time.

The six people started to eat, there being no shortage of food (even though Mr. Weasley seemed intent on eating all of it himself) and begin a conversation. Scorpius asked about Rose's brother, only to find that he's still at Hogwarts.

Scorpius learned that Rose was now working as an oblivator. Her father, AKA the second-most-famous Auror alive, had escorted her on an assignment earlier today and the two of them were going to get lunch from the Leaky when Scorpius had (literally) run into them and...

_'Oh. Bugger. Perhaps I should apologize.' _thought Scorpius, as he finally remembered what he'd done earlier that day.

"Er, Mr. Weasley?" Scorpius turned to look at the head of the table, where Ron Weasley sat, stuffing his face and pointedly ignoring Draco. Who was doing likewise.

Ron just glared at the Malfoy.

"I'm sorry I threw up on your shoes."

* * *

><p>There will be a chapter II, when I get to it.<p>

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please leave a review if you did. Or even if you didn't. I don't mind criticism, even if I don't always follow it.

It sort of is a spiritual descendant of There's This Boy in Ravenclaw, except this one focuses on Scorpius and Draco. TTBiR and this story are NOT related to one another though, totally separate stories.

If you've got a spare moment, visit my profile and check out my other HP Rose/Scorpius stories.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
